Today is the day
by schmetterlingskrone
Summary: What would you do if you were at the altar, minutes away from getting married, and you realize you don't love your fiancee? TxG Oneshot


**A/N: Tamy, thank you so much for your editing and support. I wouldn't have been able to post this fanfic without your help! Thank you so much! ILY hun! This is my first fanfic, so please tell me what you think about it:)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HSM:(**

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Today is the day

It's a day were family and friends come together to celebrate the love of two people.

It's a day were two different families become one.

It's a day were two human beings take the next step of their relationship together.

And today was the day.

Today is the day, he thought as he took a deep breath, the day he would marry his fiancee. He, is the twenty-seven year old Troy Bolton.

Standing right in front of the altar, Troy closed his eyes and thought about what was going to happen in less than twenty minutes. Right next to him was his best man and best friend since kindergarten, Chad Danforth.

Everything was perfect.

The church was decorated with red and white roses, his parents were sitting in the first row and all of his family and friends were there to witness his wedding ceremony. Even his grandmother travelled across the whole country, just to be there for her only grandson on his big day. He looked through the rows. Everyone was dressed appropriately for a wedding with suits, dresses and hats. Most of the guests were either talking to their neighbors or smiling at him encouragingly, but only his mother Celia was already crying.

It was now only fifteen minutes until the start of the ceremony but the bride hadn't arrived yet.

Troy met his fiancee five months ago, to be exact: two weeks after his ex-girlfriend broke up with him. They met at Chad's wedding, where Troy was his best man. Shortly after they got together he realized that someone cared about him again, that someone loved him and he was scared that he would loose that feeling again. Too painful were the memories of his last break-up, he didn't want to relive that experience and Troy knew that he couldn't get out of this black, deep hole on his own. More importantly, he couldn't let a person who loved him disappear out of his life so easily again. He didn't want to feel lonely and needed safety in his new relationship but the twenty-seven year old didn't know how to deepen the bond between him and his new girlfriend and so Troy just did the one thing that popped into his mind, not aware that this decission could change his life forever.

Yes, just after three months into the relationship Troy had taken the next step and asked her the big question as he got down on one knee and slipped a diamond ring on the ring finger of her left hand.

He hadn't planned the proposal nor had he ever planned to get married to her but it just felt right to him at that moment. It was the happiest day of Troy's life since his break-up. Finally someone said yes to him and was ready to spend the rest of her life with him. The feeling of being complete was finally back.

Everything seemed to be on the right place again at this day.

But things had changed since that day.

The feeling of happiness and being complete faded rapidely just after a week and all that stayed, was a feeling of emptiness. It was at this time that Troy realized that he wasn't going to marry Gabriella Montez. Yes, Troy Bolton realized that he was now engaged to Melinda Cole and would spend the rest of his life with her.

Troy had an uncertain feeling right from the beginning of the engagement. Sure, he had proposed to her and he was happy that she said yes, but was a marriage with her really what he wanted?

Now standing in front of the altar next to his best man Chad, Troy tried to think straight. He had tried to rid himself of the doubts in the last two months, but he hadn't succeeded. His doubts had grown and his uncertain feelings were now stronger and more present in his mind than ever.

He looked into the smiling faces of his guests, but he couldn't smile back. The groom didn't feel in the right mood to smile or to laugh. Thousands of different thoughts spun around in his head.

Was he doing the right thing?

Was this wedding happening too fast?

Was Melinda really the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with?

Would this marriage last forever?

Did he really love her as his fiancee and not just as a good friend?

Would he ever be truthfully happy in their marriage?

He didn't know anymore.

Sure, it was normal for nearly every bride or groom to have doubts or an uncertain feeling settle within them. To have butterflies in your stomach, cold hands, a dry mouth and to sweat like you just ran a marathon are symptoms that every bride and groom feel before their wedding ceremony.

But Troy didn't feel anything. He didn't even hear Chad ask if he was alright.

He couldn't think clearly anymore. Everything in his mind seemed incomprehensible.

Why did he feel so empty? It was his wedding day for goodness' sake! He should have felt the butterflies in his stomach.

But there was nothing. Not even one single butterfly.

And then it hit him; the thought of his ex-girlfriend Gabriella Montez.

He saw her beautiful face, her deep chocolate brown eyes and the long, curled brown strands of hair that shaped her face.

She was his highschool sweetheart and Troy and Gabriella were together for eleven years. They were madly in love and had a passionate, serious relationship. Everyone expected them to get married. But it never happened. Their relationship ended on one eventful and painful evening five months and two weeks ago.

Troy was getting more and more confused.

Why was he thinking about his first love on his wedding day?

Why had he never stopped thinking about her since the day he met her in high school?

Even in the last five months Gabriella was more present in his mind than ever. He could still hear her lovely laugh and her melodic voice. He could still feel her touch on his skin.

Was it normal to think about your ex-girlfriend like that just before your wedding to another woman? Why was it that hard for Troy not to think about Gabriella? Shouldn't he have his soon-to-be wife on his mind?

He couldn't help but feel that this wedding would be the biggest mistake of his life, and that feeling only got stronger. Firstly they were together for just five months, he thought, and secondly, his first love had just broke-up with him when they met. Troy thought he would forget Gabriella if he got into a new relationship, but he couldn't get her out of his mind. And so he proposed to a woman he barely knew and hoped that he would forget her. However, Troy always had Gabriella on his mind rather than his fiancee and knew that he would never forget her for as long as he lived.

Troy felt motionless and numb as he looked at his watch. It was now 12 a.m. and he felt like faint and confused.

The bride still hadn't arrived yet, but that only triggered relief in his body, as appose to any other emotion.

Suddenly, one of the bridesmaides appeared at the door on the other end of the aisle. It was Lydia and she was wearing a kneelength red dress. She had a serious expression on her face as she hurried down the aisle.

Everyone went silent, turned around and tried to catch the events that were now taking place in front of the altar.

''Where is Melinda?'', Troy asked Lydia in a low voice.

''She's still in the priest's room'', Lydia whispered, ''she needs some time to think about the wedding''. She took a deep breath as she looked into Troy's deep blue eyes,'' please understand that and give her some time.''

''She can have as long as it takes. I understand how she's feeling because I feel it too'', he admitted. Lydia nodded, whispered an '' I'm sorry'' and turned around to walk along the aisle again until she disappeared behind the door.

Troy couldn't handle his thoughts alone anymore. The urge to talk to someone about his feelings was unbearable. Relieved that his fiancee needed some time to arrange her thoughts, gave him the opportunity to talk to his mother about his doubts in the hope that Celia would know what he should do.

''She'll come'', Chad tried to encourage him,'' I know that she'll come.''

''I don't know Chad'', Troy responded and shook his head as he looked down to his feet.

''Of course she'll come, dude, you know that.''

'' No, Chad, I mean that I don't know if I'm doing the right thing here'', Troy admitted and Chad's eyes grew wide.

''What do you mean you don't know if it's the right thing?'', Chads voice became a little louder than he had wanted and had now got the attention of the guests, ''Of course it is!'', he said in a lower voice now.

''No Chad listen to me, as long as she has to think about this wedding, I'll do the same and clear my mind, because I really don't know what to do.''

''It's okay Troy'', Chad told him as he put his right hand on Troy's shoulder and tried to calm him down, ''go outside and take some fresh air.''

''Thanks man, I'll be right back'', Troy said as Chad smiled at him and turned around to walk over to his mother.

''Can we talk for a second?'', Troy asked his mother, ''but please stop crying now.'' Celia smiled at him as she dried the tears on her cheeks with a tissue. ''Of course my boy, you don't have to ask. Come on, let's go outside and get some fresh air'', she said as she got up from her seat and linked her arm with her son's arm as they walked outside of the church.

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Waiting for the beginning of the ceremony, Melinda walked up and down in the priest's room. She didn't know what to do so she just kept on walking around the round wooden table in the middle of the room, twirling her engagement ring around her finger. She was dressed in her white floor length wedding gown and her hair was up in a bun and covered by her veil. Her mother and her bridesmaides had left the room after Melinda had told them that she needed some time alone to think about her feelings. Thousands of thoughts spun around in her mind.

Did she choose the right choice?

Deep inside her, Melinda felt unhappy. Sure she was going to marry the man she loves, the man she felt comfortable around. It felt so safe and good to be in his arms, to kiss him or to cuddle into his chest at the couch. It felt like a dream to her, but did Troy feel in the same way? This question had been in her mind for the last five months.

What did Troy feel for her?

Even after he proposed to her, Melinda didn't know how Troy felt. Sure he said he loved her, but was he telling her the truth? She said yes to his proposal with the hope that he loved her and that he was absolutely sure about his decision, but day after day, Melinda realized that Troy didn't love her. She knew it, she just knew it that she wasn't the woman Troy loved. Melinda could see it in his eyes, in the way he kissed her or the way he touched her. She always felt like she wasn't the one he wanted to kiss or touch. She wasn't the one Troy wanted to spend his life with and she knew that. But most of all: Melinda knew that Troy still loved Gabriella.

She felt awful and selfish that she never talked to Troy about how he felt. It made her sick that she was ready to marry a man who didn't love her and who was still in love with his ex-girlfriend. She had pushed away her thoughts for the last three months because she loved Troy and wanted to be happy with him. Melinda couldn't believe it, how could she be so evil? She felt like she practically forced him into a marriage just for her own benefit. She would have been the happy one in this marriage but Troy would just have been the one who'd make her happy and be the unhappy one. Melinda couldn't marry him anymore. She couldn't be the person who made the people she loves unhappy.

And so Melinda decided that she wouldn't get married to Troy. She couldn't put him through that pain, she decided as she started to got out of her wedding gown.

Melinda walked out of the room. She didn't know how she should explain everything to Troy but she suddenly stopped walking through the entrance hall as she heard Troy and Celia's voices outside of the church. She didn't want to listen to the mother-son conversation, but a voice inside of her told her to hide behind the entrance and listen to the two people outside of the church, unknowingly that what she was about to hear would ease the decision for both of them.

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''Why do you want to talk with me Troy? Is something bothering you?'', Celia asked in a worried voice as the mother-son duo stood in front of the church.

''I don't know if this marriage is right'', Troy admitted his doubt to his mother.

''Why do you have any doubts about that?'', she questioned in a warm motherly voice.

''I guess that I don't love Melinda as my girlfriend or fiancee and I'm sure that I'll never love her that way''.

''Oh honey'' Celia responded and took her son into her arms, ''what do you feel when you're with her?''

''The more I think about it, it feels more than a close friendship to me; I enjoy being in her company, I really do, we can talk for hours about everything and everyone, we cook or watch movies together and we have fun. She cares about me and I care about her, but I guess I just care about her like a friend. Sure, I felt whole again with her but I didn't love her, I just felt loved. All this time I feel like something is missing that a part inside of me is somewhere else. Every kiss or hug with Melinda feels so empty to me. She's not the one who has my heart and she'll never have it. Melinda is really a great woman and I really appreciate that I could get to know her but she's not the one for me.''

''What do you feel for Gabriella? You still love her, am I right?'', Celia asked her son.

Troy closed his eyes. '' I love her, I love her with every inch of my body and I miss her so badly. There's not a day where I don't think about her. She's still in my heart and it belongs to her. You remember that I said that I feel like a part of me is somewhere else? This part of me is my heart and it's with Gabbi. I can still see her when I close my eyes, I hear her laugh and I can still feel her touch on my skin. It's like Gabriella's with me all the time. The engagement ring I gave Melinda was supposed to be Gabriella's. I bought this ring two weeks before our break-up. I'm so stupid for letting her go so easily. The day after our break-up I felt dead and honestly I still feel like my heart isn't beating anymore. I want her back so badly. She's my girl, the owner of my heart and the woman I dearly love.'' Troy opened his eyes and one single tear escaped his right eye.

''Troy?''

Troy spun around as he heard his name being called. It was Melinda, she was standing at the front door of the church and Troy immediately recognized that she wasn't wearing her wedding gown. ''I guess we need to talk'', she said as she walked over to Troy and Celia.

''I'll leave you two alone'', Celia said as she went inside the church.

''How much of that did you hear?'' he asked, ''and why are you not wearing your wedding gown?'' he added.

''I've heard everything'' Melinda answered, Troy opened his mouth and was about to explain everything to her but Melinda cut him off, ''no Troy, just listen to me now, you don't have to say anything''. Troy just nodded and listened to what she had to say.

''This wedding today is not going to happen, you wouldn't have been happy and me either. You forced yourself into something that you didn't want deep inside your heart and I believed that you would never do something that doesn't feel right to you and so I agreed to your proposal with the hope that you know what you feel. I love you, I really do, but I guess you can't love me back. Our marriage wouldn't have had a chance'', Melinda paused and took a deep breath as she took her engagement ring from her finger and laid it into Troy's hand. ''Why haven't you said anything to me about how you feel? You proposed to me and made me believe that you love me. You told me that you have feelings for me that you never felt. Somehow a part of me knows that you don't love me as I do you and I know that I'm not the one for you. Now I know how you feel and I'm not going to judge you nor am I mad at you because I made mistakes too. We both made mistakes. I was too selfish and just cared about my own emotions and haven't cared about your feelings. You just kept your promise in marrying me, no matter how your feelings changed for me just to make me happy. I don't want you to say anything now, I just want you to go and be happy for the rest of your life.''

''But...''

''No, Troy'', Melinda cut him off, ''I want you to get the love of your life back, get Gabriella back into your life and be happy with her. Our relationship was a mistake right from the beginning, but you and Gabriella are meant to be. You're soulmates, she's still in your heart and she'll always be in your mind and everything will turn out for good, I'm sure about that. So please go now, get her back and be happy. Promise me that...please?'', Melinda looked into Troys eyes.

''I'll promise to fight for her. Thank you for everything. You're amazing, I appreciate what you did today and I'm sure that you'll find the right guy for you one day'', Troy said as he hugged Melinda for the last time.

''Thank you and now go or I'll kick your ass'', she smiled at him and Troy turned around and started to walk towards his black Audi S6 without turning around to her.

Troy didn't want to lose time, he wanted to be with Gabriella and he wanted to fight for her, so he drove directly to the airport without a stop at his house and took the next flight to Albuquerque.

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The weather was perfect for being outside in the garden and the children in the neighbourhood were playing happily in the front yards of their homes. A light breeze was streaming through the bushes and trees and twirled her long, curled brown hair through the air. It was a nice, sunny evening in Albuquerque and Gabriella was sitting in a sun chair in her garden behind her house. But to say that Gabriella was in the same happy mood as her neighbours was the understatement of the century.

Her world was standing still, ever since the day she had broken-up with her boyfriend Troy Bolton. It was that day since she stopped watching romantic movies, the day she died inside and her world came crashing down, the day she heard about his engagement to another woman.

And today was the day, Gabriella thought, the day the man that she still dearly loved would get married to a woman she didn't know.

Gabriella knew that she'd never be happy again without Troy in her life and that she'd never be able to breath again without the feeling that the next breath would be her last. At this thought Gabriella tried to remember the last time was she had slept. She tried to remember the last time she had smiled or laughed or when she had last eaten properly or had drank something else than coffee.

How could've she let this happen? Their break-up and now Troy's wedding; how could she have let him go out of her life?

Her life was a mess. But Gabriella wasn't sure if she even had a life now without Troy

All she could think of was Troy. Gabriella was sure, if there would be a prize for the biggest mistake in life, she would definitely win it. She still loved him like hell and wanted him back so badly. Sure Gabriella wanted to call him several times, wanted to go after him and wanted to write him a letter but she couldn't do it. She wasn't sure if this would've been enough to fix the things between them and Gabriella was scared that Troy didn't want her back after all that had happened.

And now it was too late, the love of her life would get married and she would live a lonely life without love. Sure there could be other men in her life, but Gabriella's heart would always be Troy's and he would be the only man she could ever love.

What would have happened if she had stayed with him? Would Gabriella be his bride now? She would do anything to get Troy back. Gabriella couldn't live without him. In the last months she often dreamed of a marriage and having children with him but Gabriella knew that this would never happen.

Suddenly she heard her doorbell.

Maybe it's the postman, Gabriella thought and yelled an ''I don't want any mail! I don't want anything!'' in the direction of her front door with the hope that he'd leave her alone. Gabriella tried not to think about Troy now and closed her eyes, unaware of the man who came around the corner and stopped at the sight of her.

''But I want you back.''

Gabriella's heart stopped beating as she heard the familar voice. She opened her eyes and slowly started to get up from her chair, not sure what to say.

''What are you doing here?'' Gabriella asked in a low voice. She couldn't believe her eyes. Wasn't he supposed to be on the way to his honey moon? But indeed; Troy Bolton was standing a few feet away from her on the lawn in her garden. Even after she blinked once, he was still there.

''Gabi'' Troy said nearly crying, ''I don't know what to say right now.....I love you.....I truly, truly love you and I want you back in my life.'' Troy couldn't hold his tears back anymore and started to cry. ''I didn't get married to her, she made me realize my true feelings and stopped me from making the biggest mistake of my life. I thought I loved her but I was wrong. You're the one I love, the love of my life, my soulmate and the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want you to be my wife and the mother of my children one day. For the past few months I've felt like a part of me is missing, that a part of me is somewhere else. That part is my heart and it belongs to you. You had it all along. Without you I felt like my heart wasn't beating anymore. I want to feel my heart beating in my chest again and only you can make me feel it. Please give us a chance because I can't live without you. You're my heart and soul and if you give us a chance , I'll dedicate my whole future to you.''

There he stood, dressed in a suit, crying like someone had died. That fact alone, that Troy Bolton was crying in front of her, telling her how much he loved her, was enough to make her cry too. She couldn't just look at him anymore and so she ran towards him. Gabriella wanted to be with him and seconds later she found herself lost in Troy's strong arms.

Troy held her close to his chest and leaned his forehead against hers. Both were standing there crying, holding each other tight and neither one of them wanted to move.

After a few minutes of crying, sobbing and trying to form coherent sentences into Troy's chest, Gabriella felt able to speak and so she looked into Troy's red, bloodshot eyes and took his chin into her hands. ''I love you so much, Troy. I felt dead without you. It was the worst experience I have ever had and I don't want it to happen again. I'm so sorry. I'd die if I lost you again.'' That was all Gabriella could say before she felt Troy's lips on hers as they shared a long and passionate kiss full of love.

Today is the day, the couple thought, the first day of a bright and happy future together.

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